Tuesday, 4 July 2017

Canary wharf

Hello

Thanks for visiting.

Walking into Canary Wharf from the River, the enormous office blocks tower above you as you fully expect them to do - they can be seen from the centre of the City. The Shard is the tallest building in the UK, but these towers come next on the list with One Canada Square being the tallest in Europe in 1991 when it was built. Entering the park and heading for the buildings, you know there's going to be a café there somewhere.

Sure enough, there are loads of malls connected together incorporating the stations on several different floors. Fortunately there's a map as it's all a bit confusing.

A lot of the refreshment outlets are take-aways, with so many office workers hungry for lunch, it has to be snappy. All over the area smartly dressed personnel have found a good spot with a view to eat their spoils before the afternoon session.

Green spaces outside with fountains or sculptures run alongside the water filled docks, there's something to see in all directions.

The new crossrail station is still being built and is nearing completion. Already, the roof garden is open, a relaxing place with all sorts of exotic plants under a roof partially open to the elements. Practically sitting on the Meridian line, the Garden's plants are native to the East on one side and West on the other, harking back to the original use of the area which was where the ships of the West India Dock Company unloaded goods from all over the world. There's also a performance space which will be providing events over the summer.

The art on the estate comes in all shapes and sizes. Railings, floor and walls also feature, like Sophie Smallhorn's Colour East and Colour West.

There's a map of the artwork if you don't want to miss anything.

A familiar scene when leaving the underground station, these six clocks are an artwork as well as showing the time. Each minute the second hand circulates for 58.5 seconds and then waits for a synchronizing pulse before all moving together to complete the minute.

8 comments:

It looks a fascinating area to walk around I like the art works and all the green areas and you would need places to sit and refreshment too. I like the roof garden over the new crossrail station, what a good idea:)